There was nothing funny about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s last attempt at trying to make lightweight earlier this year. But the UFC lightweight contender was in a relatively jovial mood Tuesday at a UFC 219 media lunch.
Nurmagomedov, who had to be rushed to the hospital during his weight cut before UFC 209back in March, jokingly revealed his strategy this time around before his fight Edson Barboza on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas.
“I have plan for cutting weight,” Nurmagomedov said. “I’m gonna cut my left or right leg [off] Friday morning, before weigh-ins. Now we think about this — left or right?”
In all seriousness, Nurmagomedov said the dieting down process was going very well and he was on target to make the 156-pound limit next week. Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdel-Aziz said Nurmagomedov was eight or nine pounds lighter now than at this point prior to UFC 209.
“I change a lot of things,” Nurmagomedov said. “My weight is perfect. My shape is good. I have three more hard days and I finish all my training camp and focus on making weight. We’ll see. I am not in bad shape. I’m very excited about it. I want to show this.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov says weight is ‘perfect’ leading into UFC 219 fight with Edson Barboza